Billionaires Dollar Series

“She did?” Maddie shifts from me to Albert, sitting down next to him. “How did it go?”

While they fall into a domestic discussion of how to best cook game, Cole takes me aside.

“Liam,” he says, and the tone in his voice hints at roughly five different arguments.

“I know, I know,” I tell him. My eyes are still on Maddie, her face animated as she talks about cooking.

“You haven’t told Ethan about this.”

“I will.”

Cole sighs. “Your personal business is yours, of course. But I’ll be damned… she looks familiar.”

“You’ve spoken to her before.”

“I have?” Another pause. “Yes, I have. Shit.”

Albert takes his leave soon after that, telling me he’ll call in a few days for the final details. Maddie returns to my side, smiling at Cole. There’s something on her face that I haven’t seen in ages-shyness.

“Madison,” Cole says, his hand outstretched. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”

“It is, sir.”

“Madison of the excellent salmon puffs,” he says. “How did you end up engaged to this guy here?”

Maddie’s cheeks flush, but her eyes are teasing. “I ask myself that question daily.”

Cole laughs, slapping me on the shoulder. “Well, I hope it doesn’t interfere with your excellent salmon puff-making skills.”

“Oh, I can assure you it won’t.”

Cole shoots me a look that has the words we’ll talk later blazed across it. “It was nice to meet you again,” he tells Maddie, leaving the two of us alone in the crowded bar.

She turns a radiant smile on me. “Albert agreed?”

“He did.”

“Congratulations, Liam.” She throws her arms around me, the heat of her body tight against mine. She lets go before I do, but I don’t let her go far. My arm slides back in place around her waist.

“It was in no small part thanks to you,” I say. “As much as it pains me to admit.”

“Sharing the victory, are you?”

“Not in my nature. Now, we might technically be done for the night, but this calls for a celebration.”

Maddie’s eyes dance, the glitter in them bringing out the familiar old pattern in me. I wanted to impress her and make her laugh when I was a kid, and I want the same thing now.

Some things are eternal.

There’s no celebrating without champagne, and the bottle in the wine cooler between us is the finest they have.

“I’ve never actually had Dom before,” Maddie says, swirling her glass around. She’s crossed her legs, and the slit has ridden high, an expanse of smooth skin on display.

“Is this research for you, then?”

“Everything I taste is research.”

I can’t help it. “Everything?”

Her mouth quirks, but she doesn’t reply, taking another sip of her champagne. “This is far too easy to drink.”

My own glass is already empty, but we have an entire bottle to finish. “That’s the point, I think.”

She looks over at me, the unique gray of her eyes clear as mist. “So neither of us are relationship people.”

It’s out of left field, but I grin, nodding. “Seems like it. Another thing we have in common, Maddie.”

“Look at all the couples here tonight.” She glances around us, at the vast expanse of the bar. A couple is seated not far from us, their hands intertwined on the counter.

“They’re everywhere,” I confirm. “It’s an infestation.”

“Can you imagine having to get dressed up for date night once every week?”

“Having to answer flirty texts all day.” I pretend to shiver. “Like I don’t have better things to do?”

“Exactly. Not to mention, do I look like I’m made out of free data? I can’t spend it on mindless chatter.”

I laugh, reaching for the bottle between us. I refill both of our glasses. “Relationships and ambition don’t mix.”

“They definitely don’t,” she confirms. “I should find myself a guy with absolutely zero ambition. That’s what I need, you know.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You do, do you?”

“Yes, but that’s the problem.” She turns to me, and the hem of her dress hikes just a little bit higher. “I’m not attracted to guys without ambition.”

“A classic catch-22.”

“So it is.” She raises her glass to me, smiling. Her bangs are swept to the side today, her skin flushed beneath. “But everyone has their problems, I suppose, and I can live with it if that’s mine.”

“You can really live without men?” I shake my head. “You’re strong.”

“You couldn’t live without women?”NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Not sure if I can dignify that with an answer.”

“It’s a no, then.”

“It’s a hell no.” I tap my fingers along the bar. “And I call bullshit on the fact that you say you can.”